Soups

Well it has been quite some time since I have posted, my sincerest apologies. 2017 has been a very exciting and busy year, from becoming engaged, planning a wedding, getting married and then honeymooning! It has been the best, but I have missed being in the kitchen and connecting with all my dear followers, but now I am back. 🙂

I promise 2018 will bring lots of new things and I will post an update soon on all the fun we have been having, but in the meantime, I am finding inspiration again in the kitchen and wanted to share. Even though, there was some debate in my head on whether to post with pictures or without as my camera is donezo and these photo’s aren’t great, but this dish is too good not to share.

For the month of October, we were away in Bali, enjoying all the honeymoon bliss and boy, were we ever inspired with all the delicious food and drinks that were had. We were absolutely blown away in every way. From their local Indonesian fare to some of the best Italian food we have ever had, the food in Bali was incredible. Wow wow wow! Not to mention all the local and plant based food they served; it really inspired me to pay more attention to my food consumption and habits.

Last week, we were hit with a cold spell in the city and I was craving warm and spicy dishes to warm the soul. I decided to finally give one of my favourite Thai dishes, a try. Tom Yum, was super easy to make and turned out amazing that I found myself going back for seconds and could have gone back for thirds. This is definitely becoming part of our weekly rotation.

The ingredients in this soup easily blend together for some amazing flavour. One thing to note is do taste test as you go, add a little bit of this and a little bit of that if you need, don’t be shy here, this is how I developed such an amazing soup. If you want it more spicy add in more chilli, prefer it less creamy skip a can of coconut milk, if it is too sour add in more sugar. The great thing about this dish, is once you get the broth portion to your liking, you can add in whatever you like in terms of veg or protein. Don’t be scared off by the number of ingredients, it is SO GOOD!! I also chose to make mine extra brothy, so feel free to add more veg or less liquid if you prefer.

Tom Yum (yields 6-8 servings)

1400 ml no salt added vegetable broth

2 cans coconut milk (1 regular and 1 light)

1 tsp of sugar (your choice, I used cane)

3 tbsp tom yum paste

1 tbsp lemongrass paste or the lower third of lemongrass stalk cut into matchsticks

1 tbsp ginger, grated

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp chilli garlic sauce

1 tsp Himalayan sea salt

2-4 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp fish sauce

1 small bunch of green onions, finely chopped

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

1 zucchini, sliced into half mooons

half a cup of cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

8-10 mushrooms, sliced

Thai rice noodles

2 cups of shrimp, I used cooked but raw would be best

handful of cilantro

Pour broth and coconut milk into a large saucepan and set over medium. Whisk in sugar, tom yum paste, lemongrass, ginger, garlic, and chilli-garlic sauce. Cover and bring to a boil

Like this:

There are many variations of a hearty and nutritious minestrone soup, and it’s super simple to tweak based on what vegetables you may have on hand. The classic minestrone is a thick soup of Italian origin made with vegetables and pasta and/or rice. However, there is no set recipe for minestrone; it can be vegetarian or not and you can totally leave out the grain as well! The one thing that should stay constant is the borlotti beans (aka Roman beans) to make for a genuine minestrone.

Gordon Ramsay is one of my favourite chef’s. I often flip through his cookbooks to find inspiration when cooking and must say he has an amazing authentic Minestrone recipe. I usually follow his lead on this one and adapt as I go along, usually minus the back bacon and pasta (see my variation below).

Minestrone (yields 4-6 servings)

2 tbsp olive oil, plus a little extra to drizzle (optional)

2 onions, chopped

2 medium carrots, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

himalayan sea salt

ground black pepper

fresh thyme sprigs

1 bay leaf

80g smoked back bacon/pancetta, trimmed of fat and chopped (I often leave this out)

2 tbsp tomato puree

2 x 400g tins romano beans, rinsed and drained

150g cherry tomatoes, halved

600-800ml vegetable stock or water

large handful of basil, finely shredded

parmesan, for grating (optional)

Heat oil in a large pot, add onions, carrots, celery, salt and pepper. Stir frequently over a medium-high heat for 6-8 minutes until the vegetables are beginning to soften.

Add the thyme, bay leaf and bacon. Increase the heat slightly and cook, stirring, for another 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato puree and cook for another minute.

Add in the romano beans and cherry tomatoes, then pour in the stock or water to cover. Bring to a gentle simmer. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Like this:

Now here’s an oldie, but a goodie. This cabbage soup recipe was probably one of the first soups that I really ever liked, next to the classic chicken noodle. There’s nothing fancy and there aren’t any frills with this recipe, yet it is so hearty and comforting that it makes it a true favourite of mine. The way the flavours blend just feel so right on a cold fall/winter day. Plus this recipe makes enough to last you a season!

Cabbage Soup

1 lb lean ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 cup celery, chopped

1/2 green pepper, chopped

2 tsp oil

2 tbsp sugar

1/2-1 tsp himalayan sea salt

1 1/2 tsp paprika

28 oz. can of diced tomoatoes

4 cups hot water

2 beef bouillion cubes

2 tbsp parsley flakes

2 cup raw potatoes, diced

1 cup carrots, chopped

6 cups or less of cabbage, chopped coarsely

ground pepper to taste

In a large pot, sauté ground beef, onion, celery and pepper until redness in meat is gone.

Add in the rest of the ingredients (except cabbage), simmer, uncovered for 1 hour

Add cabbage, cover and simmer for 1 hour. If soup is too thick add in more hot water.

A handful of simple ingredients makes for a healthy soup loaded with flavour. This tomato soup is one that you can’t really screw up. I’ve made it time and time again and it always turns out deliciously good! However, I felt my mother was a tad uncertain when I started to wing a recipe in the midst of our organized soup marathon. But to her delight and at no real surprise, I did great and to quote “this is the best tomato soup I’ve ever had”.

Here’s the dish and don’t be too worried about the measurements, you can’t really go wrong when combining these ingredients. The real trick here is roasting cherry tomatoes until they get a bit carmelized but be careful not to burn them.

Roasted Tomato Soup (yields 6-8 servings)

6 pints of cherry tomatoes

2-4 tbsp of olive oil

1-2 cooking onions

4 cloves of garlic

handful of basil

handful of parsley

28 oz. can of peeled san marzano tomatoes (plum work well too!)

900 ml vegetable broth

himalayan sea salt and pepper to taste

Drizzle cherry tomatoes with olive oil and roast in the oven for 35-45 minutes.

While tomatoes are roasting, heat olive oil on low and sauté onion + garlic until soft.